Experiences with Dating Violence and Help Seeking Among Hispanic Females in Their Late Adolescence

Influence of Cultural Norms on Formal Service Engagement Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Meta-synthesis

For victim-survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), receiving help from formal services such as specialist family violence, health, or criminal justice services can be critical for their safety and well-being. Previous research has found cross-cultural differences in the rates of help-seeking behavior, with women from non-Anglo-Saxon communities less likely to seek formal help than Anglo-Saxon populations. This qualitative meta-synthesis has integrated qualitative evidence to examine the relationship between specific cultural norms and formal service engagement for female victim-survivors of IPV from non-Anglo-Saxon communities. A comprehensive search of seven databases was conducted for peer-reviewed articles published between 1985 to May 2021, in addition to searching gray literature. Thirty-five articles met the criteria for inclusion, representing 1,286 participants from 20 cultural groups. Based on a thematic synthesis approach, five key themes that captured specific cultural norms that influence formal service engagement were identified: (1) gender roles and social expectations, (2) community recognition and acceptance of abuse, (3) honor-based society, (4) the role of religion, and (5) cultural beliefs and attitudes toward formal services. These findings have important implications for responses to family violence, particularly concerning family violence education for non-Anglo-Saxon ethnically diverse communities and best-practice strategies to improve the cultural relevancy of formal service providers.

Intimate Partner Violence and Barriers to Help-Seeking Among Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Immigrant Women: A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Global Research

It is well known that victims of intimate partner violence experience numerous barriers to leaving abusive relationships. For ethnic minority and immigrant women these barriers are significantly exacerbated. This metasynthesis explored barriers to help-seeking as experienced by Black, Asian, minority ethnic and immigrant women with experience of intimate partner violence. A review of worldwide literature published in English in peer-reviewed journals on this topic from 2000 to July 2020 produced 2597 relevant articles. After removing duplicates and applying the exclusion criteria, a total of 47 articles were selected for inclusion in the review. The synthesis found that these women faced additional barriers as a result of institutional racism, immigration laws, culture and religion, and issues of cultural competence, and lack of diversity within frontline services. Such barriers, from a range of formal and informal resources, services and other mechanisms of support, served to exacerbate feelings of fear, threat, isolation and powerlessness. The barriers were also further weaponised by perpetrators in order to extend their reign of terror and control. As a result, women were caught in a double-bind - stay in an abusive relationship or face further threats and consequences if they attempted to leave. Whilst our search criteria focused on barriers to help-seeking, many of the papers included in our synthesis also explored facilitators to help-seeking, which are included in our findings and overwhelmingly relate to informal support from females.

Teen Dating Violence Help-Seeking Intentions and Behaviors Among Ethnically and Racially Diverse Youth: A Systematic Review

Teen dating violence (TDV) affects millions of youth in the United States and globally each year. A systematic review was conducted to examine the help-seeking intentions and behaviors of youth between the ages of 12 and 19 based on racial and ethnic differences. Considering the high prevalence of TDV among racially and ethnically diverse youth, previous systematic reviews have recommended that future scholarship address help-seeking intentions and behaviors among racially and ethnically diverse youth. The methodologies and results of TDV and help-seeking studies published since 2000 were reviewed and analyzed. A systematic search of peer-reviewed journal articles published in English was conducted using an electronic search. The rigorous search identified 10 studies that addressed help-seeking intentions and behaviors and racial and ethnic differences in youth meeting eligibility requirements. The search yielded few studies, indicating a need to conduct future research in this area. The strength of the studies' methodologies limited generalizability and external validity. The studies primarily addressed differences among African American and Latino youth. Youth relied on informal sources of support, with youth from both groups preferring to seek help from parents and friends. Mistrust, lack of closeness, and feelings of mistrust, shame, and embarrassment informed youths' help-seeking intentions and behaviors. Racially and ethnically specific factors such as negative perceptions of father figures, familism, acculturation, and traditional gender role notions were identified as barriers to help-seeking. As part of appraising and synthesizing the evidence, recommendations for research, practice, and policy are presented.

Adolescent Dating Violence: Results of a Mixed Study in Quito, Ecuador

Dating violence is a public health problem affecting people worldwide. This study evaluated the occurrence of different types of adolescent dating violence using a mixed analysis of each data source. The present study addresses the following research questions: does the occurrence of the types of violence analyzed in the quantitative phase match with the narratives obtained in the qualitative phase? and does the additional information obtained in the qualitative phase improve the understanding of the analyzed phenomenon?In the quantitative phase, 410 participants (aged 13 to 19 years) answered a questionnaire based on the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale, while in the qualitative phase, 26 participated in two focus groups. Data were collected from May to June 2019. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents or legal guardians of those who had agreed to participate. The present research was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. The results were divided on: prevalence of dating violence based on age groups and gender, management and resolution of dating conflicts, victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence, factors favoring intimate partner violence and acceptance of abuse. The results were analyzed via triangulation and indicated that adolescents were involved in the perpetration and victimization of psychological as well as mild and severe physical violence. An analysis of the contributing factors revealed a strong tendency toward the acceptance of the traditional gender model. Challenging these models is crucial to deconstruct hierarchical models, develop conflict resolution skills, and promptly identify abusive behaviors that affect emotional development. The combination of different methodological approaches improved the understanding of the phenomenon studied.

The Development of the Measure of Adolescent Relationship Harassment and Abuse (MARSHA): Input From Black and Multiracial, Latinx, Native American, and LGBTQ+ Youth

This formative research study was designed to collect opinion data from adolescents historically underrepresented in adolescent dating abuse (ADA) research measure development. Eight in-person focus groups and 7 telephone-based one-on-one interviews were conducted with U.S. youth aged from 11 to 20 years (N=48). We conducted two focus groups with Black, Multiracial, Latinx, Native American, and LGBTQ+ youth. Seven LGBTQ+ youth participated in one-on-one telephone-based interviews. Focus group participants and interview subjects were asked the same 11 questions from a semi-structured focus group question guide. Five questions were on the topic of dating behaviors in general. In addition, six questions were asked for reactions to a paper-based list of 75 abusive acts. Youth generated ideas for 10 new possible cyber-ADA items and 14 emotionally abusive items for inclusion on the ADA measurement instrument. They did not generate any new physical or sexual ADA items. Youth identified 14 acts that they felt should not be on the measure, either because the acts were not abusive and too common, because they could not understand the item, or because it seemed unrealistic as an act of ADA. The study faced several limitations and was a good first step toward enriching the cultural inclusivity of ADA measurement instrument. Continued attention to inclusionary research that seeks to understand the cultural milieux of diverse participants is essential for violence prevention scholarship and subsequent health programming and policy that derive from it.

Longitudinal Patterns in Adolescent Intentions to Seek Help for Dating Violence: A Latent Transition Analysis

As a persistent public health problem affecting thousands of adolescents every year, teen dating violence has been studied extensively. However, gaps remain in the knowledge on what adolescents think about seeking help for violence in a dating relationship and how these attitudes might change over time. This study adopts a longitudinal person-oriented approach to explore configurations of help-seeking preferences in a sample of rural adolescents (N at wave 1 = 580, M_age = 13 years, SD = 1.48; 52.7% female; 46.6% African American, 39.4% White, 14% Hispanic and other minorities), surveyed annually for four years, with each assessment approximately 12 months apart. Latent class analyses uncovered variation in adolescents' willingness to disclose dating violence, captured by six groups: (a) Multi-help-seekers (19%), (b) Reluctant help-seekers (15%), (c) Selective help-seekers (16%), (d) Parent confidants (11%), (e) Friends confidants (22%), and (f) Moderate help-seekers (17%). Follow-up analyses revealed that select sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, and family income) were unevenly distributed among the identified groups, pointing to the need to account for individual and contextual influences in understanding heterogeneity in help-seeking attitudes. Latent transition models further showed that although individual membership in latent classes was generally stable between middle and high school, transitions between help-seeking classes were common as well. The article concludes by discussing these findings in the context of further research and programming to promote help-seeking among developing adolescents, including targeted strategies to address the needs of adolescents who think differently about disclosing dating abuse.

Perceived barriers, relationship quality, and informal mentors: Adolescents' preference for disclosing about dating violence

This study examined associations among adolescents' likelihood of disclosure about dating violence, perceptions of barriers to disclosure, and quality of the relationship with various sources of support. Data were gathered from 152 students in a southern high school. Results indicated youth perceived fewer barriers to disclosing to mentors compared with friends and parents, and youth reported highest relationships quality with informal mentors. However, youth indicated highest likelihood of disclosure to friends, followed by informal mentors and parents. Both relationship quality and perceived barriers to disclosure about dating violence were associated with likelihood of disclosure to friends and parents, but only relationship quality was related to likelihood of disclosure to informal mentors. Current findings (a) suggest adolescents' preferences for disclosing about dating violence are influenced by perceived barriers and relationship quality with sources of support and (b) highlight the promise of informal mentors as an additional resource for adolescents.

Project STRONG: an Online, Parent-Son Intervention for the Prevention of Dating Violence among Early Adolescent Boys

Despite broad calls for prevention programs to reduce adolescent dating violence (DV), there is a dearth of programs designed specifically for males. In fact, there are no programs that capitalize on the importance of parents in modeling and influencing the choices their sons make in future romantic relationships. To address these gaps, this study assessed the initial feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an online, parent-son intervention (STRONG) aimed at reducing DV among early adolescent males. One-hundred nineteen 7th- and 8th-grade boys were recruited, with a parent (90% mothers), from six urban middle schools in the Providence, RI area. Dyads were randomized to either STRONG or a waitlist comparison group. STRONG targets three primary constructs: relationship health knowledge, emotion regulation, and communication. Families randomized to the waitlist were nearly twice as likely at 3 months (OR = 1.92 [0.43-8.60]) and nearly 7 times as likely at 9 months (OR = 6.76 [0.66-69.59]) to endorse any form of DV perpetration (physical, sexual, verbal/emotional) when compared with STRONG families. STRONG also had positive effects on teens' attitudes toward dealing with DV, their emotional awareness, and their short-term regulation skills and was associated with increased discussion of critical relationship topics. Pilot outcomes indicate that an online DV prevention program designed to engage early adolescent boys and parents is both acceptable and engaging. Findings show promise for reducing DV behaviors and theory-driven mediators. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03109184.

Adolescents' Help-Seeking Behavior and Intentions Following Adolescent Dating Violence: A Systematic Review

The review aimed to systematically identify and summarize empirical work examining adolescent victims' help-seeking behaviors and intentions in relation to their own experience of adolescent dating violence (ADV) and to critically evaluate the literature. Three main objectives were addressed: identify factors associated with help seeking, identify help-seeking source (who adolescents disclose to), and explore the barriers and facilitators for help seeking. Results were separated into actual help seeking and help-seeking intentions. A systematic search was conducted via an electronic search on February 10, 2017. Studies were identified by systematically searching the following electronic databases: Amed, BNI, CINAHL, EMBASE, Health Business Elite, HMIC, Medline, PsychINFO, and PubMed. Nineteen studies were included in the review. Adolescents were more likely to go to informal sources of support, with friends being the most commonly reported source. The majority of studies found females were more likely than males to seek help; however, inconsistencies in gender differences emerged. The variation in measurement and definition of ADV and help seeking included in this review impacts on its conclusions. Adolescents identify a number of barriers to help seeking for ADV. Emotional factors were identified as important barriers to seeking help; however, very little research in this review explored this area. Further research is required on age and cultural differences, use of the Internet, and preference for different sources for different types of abuse. There is a need for a greater focus on help seeking to ensure government campaigns are appropriately meeting the needs of young people experiencing ADV.

Violence in intimate relationships in adolescents: effectiveness of an intervention by peers through forum theater

OBJECTIVE

The main goal was the peer evaluation of the effectiveness of a health education intervention, also seeking the characterization of violent behaviors experienced by teens in intimate relationships.

METHOD

A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was performed with a non-probabilistic sample of 197 teens of both genders without control group. The intervention performed consisted of one peer-run forum theater session about intimate violence in dating relationships of teens.

RESULTS

Boys reported being both victims and perpetrators of violent behaviors more frequently than girls. The sample reported more behaviors associated with victimization than perpetration. Girls showed a higher level of knowledge on the topic and this knowledge increased after the intervention.

CONCLUSION

Psychological violence is highly prevalent in dating relationships, particularly in cases of victimization. It seems essential to understand and act upon adolescents' perceptions about what violent behavior is. This study confirmed the effectiveness of health education in acquiring knowledge on this topic.